Lowry view of London may fetch £250,000

A RARE painting of London by L S Lowry, inspired by a scene at Paddington station, is expected to fetch up to £250,000 at Christie's next month.

Lowry was sitting in an Oxford-bound train at Paddington in 1962 when a trolley pulling baggage trucks on the opposite platform attracted his attention.

The 74-year-old artist, by then an establishment figure after being elected to the Royal Academy, made a quick sketch.

The drawing formed the basis for On a crowded station platform, Paddington, one of six Lowrys being sold by an anonymous private British collector which are expected to fetch a total of up to £600,000 at Christie's in London on Nov 23.

The Paddington painting, estimated at £150,000 to £250,000, is an unusual example of a London picture by Lowry, who specialised in northern industrial scenes.